DARPA Falcon Project
This article needs to be updated.(October 2021) |
The DARPA FALCON Project (Force Application and Launch from Continental United States) was a two-part joint project between the
Current research under Falcon project is centered on the flight tests of boost-glide technological demonstrators HTV-1 and HTV-2 for the development of the X-41 Common Aero Vehicle (CAV) and HTV-3 for the Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV). The technological demonstrator Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2) first flew on 22 April 2010; the second test flew 11 August 2011 reaching Mach 20. Both flights ended prematurely.[3][4]
The HTV-3X Blackswift, derived from HTV-3, was a technological demonstrator of the HCV which would take off from a runway and accelerate to Mach 6 (7,400 km/h; 4,600 mph) before completing its mission and landing again. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) between DARPA and the USAF on Blackswift was signed in September 2007. The Blackswift HTV-3X did not receive needed funding and was canceled in October 2008.[5]
Design and development
Past projects
The aim was always to be able to deploy a craft from the continental United States, which could reach anywhere on the planet within one to two hours. The
According to Henry F. Cooper, who was the Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") under President Reagan, spaceplane projects consumed $4 billion of funding in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s (excluding the Space Shuttle). This does not include the 1950 and 1960s budgets for the Dynasoar, ISINGLASS, Rheinberry, and any 21st-century spaceplane project which might emerge under Falcon. He told the United States Congress in 2001 that all the United States had in return for those billions of dollars was "one crashed vehicle, a hangar queen, some drop-test articles and static displays".[7] Falcon was allocated US$170 million for budget year 2008.[8]
HyperSoar
The HyperSoar was an American
FALCON
The overall FALCON (Force Application and Launch from CONtinental United States) program announced in 2003 had two major components: a small launch vehicle for carrying payloads to orbit or launching the hypersonic weapons platform payload, and the hypersonic vehicle itself.[2]
Small Launch Vehicle
The DARPA FALCON solicitation in 2003 asked for bidders to do development work on proposed vehicles in a first phase of work, then one or more vendors would be selected to build and fly an actual launch vehicle. Companies which won first phase development contracts of $350,000 to $540,000 in November 2003 included:[11]
- AirLaunch LLC, Reno Nevada
- Andrews Space Inc., Seattle Washington
- Exquadrum Inc., Victorville California.
- KT Engineering, Huntsville Alabama
- Lockheed Martin Corp., New Orleans Louisiana
- Microcosm Inc., El Segundo California
- Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles Virginia
- Schafer Corp., Chelmsford Massachusetts
- Space Exploration Technologies, Hawthorne California
Hypersonic Weapon System
The first phase of the Hypersonic Weapon System development was won by three bidders in 2003, each receiving a $1.2 to $1.5 million contract for hypersonic vehicle development:[11]
- Andrews Space Inc., Seattle, Wash.
- Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Palmdale, Calif.
- Northrop Grumman Corp., Air Combat Systems, El Segundo, Calif.
Lockheed Martin received the only Phase 2 HWS contract in 2004, to develop technologies further and reduce technology risk on the program.[11] The second phase of the Hypersonic Weapon System development was to perform a set of flight tests with a series of boost-glide Hypersonic Technology Vehicles (HTVs).[12]
- HTV-1: a low performance hypersonic glider, originally planned to fly in September 2007, now canceled because it was found not possible to manufacture the leading edges.[13]
- HTV-2: a high performance hypersonic glider, first flew on 22 April 2010 but contact was lost soon after booster separation,[14][15][16] second flew on 11 August 2011 but control was lost after the beginning of the glider trajectory
- HTV-3: a hypersonic glider including technologies for a reusable hypersonic cruise aircraft, then derived in HTV-3X and now canceled
In parallel, some work was still dedicated to the conceptual development of a Hypersonic Cruise Vehicle (HCV) that would be able to fly 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km) in 2 hours with a payload of 12,000 lb (5,500 kg).[17] It would fly at a high altitude and achieve speeds of up to Mach 9.
HTV-3X Blackswift
The Blackswift was derived from the HTV-3 and proposed a technological demonstration of a reusable aircraft capable of hypersonic flight designed by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Boeing, and ATK.[18]
The USAF stated that the "Blackswift flight demonstration vehicle will be powered by a combination of
I will also be communicating to Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney on how important it is that we get the technical plan in place ... I'm trying to build the bridge at the beginning of the program—to get the communication path flowing.
Dr. Walker also stated,
We need to fly some hypersonic vehicles—first the expendables, then the reusables—in order to prove to decision makers that this isn't just a dream… We won't overcome the skepticism until we see some hypersonic vehicles flying.
In October 2008 it was announced that HTV-3X or Blackswift did not receive needed funding in the fiscal year 2009 defense budget and had been canceled.[5][20]
-
Falcon HTV-3X
-
The HTV-3X activates its turbojets in transonic flight...
-
...then ignites its scramjets for the hypersonic phase
-
HTV-3X on approach to Edwards Air Force Base
Flight testing
DARPA had two HTV-2s built for flight tests in 2010 and 2011. Falcon HTV-2 was successfully launched twice though both vehicles were subsequently lost to failure due to loss of communication. This resulted in uncontrolled crashes of both systems into the ocean.
The
The first HTV-2 flight was launched on 22 April 2010.
A second flight was launched on 11 August 2011. The unmanned Falcon HTV-2 successfully separated from the booster and entered the mission's glide phase, but again lost contact with control about nine minutes into its planned 30-minute Mach 20 glide flight.[26] Initial reports indicated it purposely impacted the Pacific Ocean along its planned flight path as a safety precaution.[27][28][29] Some analysts thought that the second failure would result in an overhaul of the Falcon program.[30]
Refocus
In July 2013, DARPA decided it would not conduct a third flight test of the HTV-2 because enough data had been collected from the first two flights, and another test was not thought to provide any more usable data for the cost. The tests provided data on flight aerodynamics and high-temperature effects on the aeroshell. Work on the HTV-2 would continue to summer 2014 to provide more study on hypersonic flight. The HTV-2 was the last active part of the Falcon program. DARPA has now changed its focus for the program from global/strategic strike to high-speed tactical deployment to penetrate air defenses and hit targets quickly from a safe distance.[31]
See also
- Boeing X-51
- Prompt Global Strike, a follow-on military project
- Rockwell X-30 (National AeroSpace Plane)
- Lockheed Martin SR-72
- Boost-glide
References
- ^ "US looks for answers after hypersonic plane fails". Space-travel.com. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ a b FALCON Force Application and Launch from CONUS Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) PHASE I Proposer Information Pamphlet (PIP) for BAA Solicitation 03-35 Archived 2008-11-27 at the Wayback Machine. DARPA, 2003.
- ^ "Falcon HTV-2". DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ "Superfast Military Aircraft Hit Mach 20 Before Ocean Crash, DARPA Says". space.com. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Falcon Technology Demonstration Program HTV-3X Blackswift Test Bed" Archived 2010-12-20 at the Wayback Machine. DARPA, October 2008.
- ^ Isinglass Archived 2006-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. astronautix.com
- ^ Cooper Testimony Archived 2007-07-29 at the Wayback Machine. tgv-rockets.com
- ^ Space Weapons Spending in the FY 2008 Defense Budget Archived 2007-03-13 at the Wayback Machine. cdi.org
- ^ "Internal Communications: 10-12-01-hypersoar.HTML". Archived from the original on 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
- ^ "X-41 CAV". Designation-systems.net. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
- ^ a b c USAF DARPA FALCON Program Archived 2008-08-30 at the Wayback Machine. Air-attack.com. Retrieved: 2012-02-05.
- ^ "Falcon Technology Demonstration Program: Fact Sheet" Archived 2016-12-21 at the Wayback Machine. DARPA, January 2006.
- ^ "US hypersonic aircraft projects face change as Congress urges joint technology office" Archived 2008-09-06 at the Wayback Machine. Flight International, 30 May 2006.
- ^ a b c "First Minotaur IV Lite launches from Vandenberg" Archived April 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine. U.S. Air Force, 22 April 2010.
- AFP news agency, 27 March 2010.
- ^ Graham Warwick (24 April 2010). "DARPA's HTV-2 Didn't Phone Home". Aviation Week. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
- ^ "Propulsion, Materials Test Successes Put Positive Spin on Falcon Prospects"[permanent dead link]. Aviation Week, 22 July 2007.
- Aviation Week, 24 July 2008. Retrieved: 28 March 2010.
- ^ Lorenz III, Philip (17 May 2007). "DARPA official: AEDC 'critical' to hypersonics advancement". Arnold Air Force Base. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- Flight Global, 13 October 2008. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
- ^ "Vandenberg Air Force Base". Military Bases. 2012-11-30. Archived from the original on 2014-10-10.
- ^ Little, Geoffrey. "Mach 20 or Bust, Weapons research may yet produce a true spaceplane" Archived 2013-01-01 at archive.today. Air & Space Magazine, 1 September 2007.
- ^ Clark, Stephen. "New Minotaur rocket launches on suborbital flight" Archived 2010-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. spaceflightnow.com, 23 April 2010.
- ^ Waterman, Shaun. "Plane's flameout may end space weapon plan" Archived 2012-10-19 at the Wayback Machine. The Washington Times, 22 July 2010.
- ^ Waterman, Shaun (25 November 2010). "Pentagon to test 2nd near-space strike craft". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ Eyder Peralta (August 11, 2011). "Updated: DARPA Believes 'Hypersonic Glider' Is Somewhere In The Pacific". NPR. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ Rosenberg, Zach. "DARPA loses contact with HTV-2" Archived 2011-12-30 at the Wayback Machine. Flight International, 11 August 2011.
- ^ "DARPA HYPERSONIC VEHICLE ADVANCES TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE" Archived 2014-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. DARPA, 11 August 2011.
- ^ Norris, Guy. "Review Board Sets Up to Probe HTV-2 Loss" Archived 2011-11-21 at the Wayback Machine. Aviation Week, 12 August 2011.
- ^ "Hypersonic test aircraft 'lost'". BBC News. 12 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2011-08-12.. BBC NEWS, 11 August 2011.
- ^ Darpa Refocuses Hypersonics Research On Tactical Missions Archived 2014-01-17 at the Wayback Machine - Aviationweek.com, 8 July 2013
External links
- Falcon page on Darpa.mil
- HCV page on Globalsecurity.org
- "Air Drops Dummy Rocket for Darpa's Falcon" Archived 2012-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, Aviation Week,
- "Hypersonics Back in the News" on Defensetech.org
- "Going Hypersonic: Flying FALCON for Defense" and "Air Force Plans Flight Tests Of Hypersonic Vehicle" on Space.com
- "Pentagon Has Far-Reaching Defense Spacecraft in Works"[dead link], Washington Post, March 16, 2005
- "US hypersonic aircraft projects face change as Congress urges joint technology office", Flight International, 30 May 2006